Hurricane Helene: Allergy warning as floods stir up swarms of wasps

Published

1 year ago

October 4, 2024

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Swarms of wasps stirred up by flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene have prompted US health officials to stock up on allergy medication.

The search for survivors and victims has entered its second week after the deadliest storm the US has seen since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

At least 215 people have been killed as communities from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia struggle to recover.

As well as people’s homes, the rain and floodwater destroyed the nests of wasps and bees.

Officials have stocked up on allergy medications like Benadryl and EpiPens to help those who may get stung, Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports.

“We are actively working to ensure Benadryl and epinephrine are readily available in western North Carolina for those who may be allergic or have been stung,” Summer Tonizzo, a press assistant at the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, told NBC News.

She said it was normal for the wasps to be disturbed after a hurricane.

Tarren Pruitt, 42, a registered nurse in West Jefferson, North Carolina, also told NBC that since the hurricane, she has noticed more wasps and heard reports of workers getting stung while trying to restore power.

Chris Hayes, an extension associate in urban entomology at North Carolina State University, said wasps “tend to get more aggressive this time of year” anyway as food becomes scarcer and the weather causes population numbers to dwindle.

That, alongside the impact of the storm, aggravates the effects and if a colony’s queen has been killed the rest of the wasps, known popularly as yellow jackets in the US, could be flying around aimlessly.

Most people aren’t allergic to wasp or bee stings but may still develop pain, itching or swelling when stung. Benadryl, either in topical or oral form, can help reduce those symptoms. EpiPens are reserved for people with severe allergic reactions – such as trouble breathing or swallowing – which can sometimes be life-threatening.

The National Park Service is advising people in affected areas of the US to walk slowly away with their hands covering sensitive areas of their face if they discover a wasp or bee nest that has been disturbed.

‘People need help now’

Dozens or possibly hundreds of people are still unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene.

Around half of those killed in the storm died in North Carolina, with 72 people dying in Buncombe County alone.

Dozens more were killed in South Carolina and Georgia as authorities now face the difficult battle to search for victims and help survivors recover.

“We know these are hard times, but please know we’re coming,” Sheriff Quentin Miller of Buncombe County said at a Thursday evening news conference.

“We’re coming to get you. We’re coming to pick up our people.”

“People need help now,” President Joe Biden said, with Congress not set to return until after the 5 November election.

After flying in to view the affected areas on Wednesday, Mr Biden vowed that the federal government would foot the bill for debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months in North Carolina and three months in Georgia.

More than one million people across the US were left without power after Hurricane Helene struck Florida on 26 September.

Efforts to find the missing are hindered by a lack of phone service and electricity as search crews must trudge through the mountains to see if residents are safe.

Along the Cane River in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, firefighters had to cut their way through trees to make progress.

In Pensacola, North Carolina, it’s still unclear how many people have been lost, according to Mark Harrison, chief medical officer for the local fire department.

Nearer the Tennessee state line, crews were finally beginning to reach side roads after clearing out main routes.

But this brought further troubles as crews struggled to navigate the smaller roads.

“Everything is fine and then they come around a bend and the road is gone and it’s one big gully or the bridge is gone,” said Charlie Wallin, a Watauga County commissioner. “We can only get so far.”

When the search will end is unclear.

“You hope you’re getting closer, but it’s still hard to know,” he said.

US

US Supreme Court rejects appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell

Published

6 hours ago

October 6, 2025

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US Supreme Court rejects appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell

The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, over her criminal conviction.

Maxwell was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years in prison after being convicted in December 2021 on sex trafficking charges.

Her lawyers argued she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.

The nine justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sexual-abuse saga.

US President Donald Trump and his administration, which urged the court not to accept the case, have been condemned for refusing to publicly release all the files from Epstein’s case.

Maxwell was moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas after she was interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.

As usual, the justices on the highest court in the US did not explain why they turned down the appeal.

Maxwell’s legal team argued she shouldn’t have faced prosecution because of a deal that Epstein, who took his own life while in prison in 2019, made with federal prosecutors in Miami.

The 2007 agreement protected his “potential co-conspirators” from federal charges anywhere in the country, they said.

Maxwell was prosecuted in Manhattan, and the federal appeals court there ruled that the prosecution was proper.

A jury found her guilty of sex trafficking a teenage girl, among other charges.

Maxwell was given limited immunity when Mr Blanche interviewed her over the summer, allowing her to speak freely without fear of prosecution for anything she said except for in the event of a false statement.

She repeatedly denied seeing any sexually inappropriate interactions involving Mr Trump, according to records released in August meant to distance the president from the disgraced financer.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges and was accused of sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls.

A month later, he was found dead in a New York jail cell in what investigators described as a suicide.

Maxwell’s move to a lower security facility was criticised by the family of Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, and accusers Annie and Maria Farmer.

Describing Maxwell as a “sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions”, they said in a statement the transfer “smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better”.

When it announced in July that no additional documents from the investigation would be released, the US Justice Department declared that Epstein had killed himself, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary.

A “client list” that US Attorney General Pam Bondi had intimated was on her desk did not actually exist, the department said.

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US

Donald Trump authorises deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago

Published

1 day ago

October 5, 2025

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Donald Trump authorises deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago

Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 300 National Guard members to Chicago, the latest in a string of cities where US troops have been sent.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the US president authorised the move, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.

“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” Ms Jackson said.

Chicago is the latest city in the US where Mr Trump has authorised the deployment of US troops, as it follows similar orders for Los Angeles, Washington and Portland.

Democratic governor JB Pritzker branded the move unnecessary and “a manufactured performance – not a serious effort to protect public safety”.

The Illinois governor said in a statement: “This morning, the Trump administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will.

“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”

It comes as an attempt by the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard in Portland, Oregon, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in a lawsuit brought by the state and city.

The plaintiffs said a deployment would violate the US constitution as well as a federal law that generally prohibits the military from being used to enforce domestic laws.

Mr Trump ordered the deployment of troops to “war-ravaged Portland” last week, authorising the use of “full force” if needed.

The move came after a gunman opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas, wounding two detainees and killing another.

Mr Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer and to Washington DC, as part of his law enforcement takeover there.

US

Trump says Gaza ceasefire will begin ‘immediately’ when Hamas confirms deal

Published

2 days ago

October 5, 2025

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Trump says Gaza ceasefire will begin 'immediately' when Hamas confirms deal

Donald Trump has said a ceasefire in Gaza will begin “immediately” after Hamas agrees to a new US plan to end the war.

The US president said Israel had “agreed to the initial withdrawal line” and “when Hamas confirms”, the ceasefire will start, Israeli hostages will be released and a prisoner exchange will begin.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said it would “create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000-year catastrophe”.

It came as Hamas accused the Israeli government of lying about reducing its military operations, accusing it of continuing to “commit its horrific crimes and massacres” against Palestinians in Gaza, claiming 70 people had been killed by strikes since Saturday morning.

The group said it “exposes the false claims of the war criminal Netanyahu’s government regarding scaling back military operations against defenceless civilians”.

It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days”.

Mr Netanyahu made the remarks as indirect talks with Hamas continue in Egypt on a new US plan to end the war.

Speaking after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of the plan, Mr Netanyahu said he had sent the delegation to Egypt “to finalise technical details”, adding that “our goal is to contain these negotiations to a timeframe of a few days”.

Donald Trump has welcomed Hamas’s statement, but on Saturday warned the group “must move quickly, or else all bets will be off”.

Trump orders Israel to stop bombing Gaza

Earlier in the day, Israel’s army said the country’s leaders had instructed it to prepare for the first phase of the US plan to end the war in Gaza.

Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike, one official said, adding that no forces have been removed from the territory.

It came hours after Mr Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas said it accepted some elements of his plan.

What’s in the peace plan?

Mr Trump’s proposed plan to end the war has widespread international support and on Friday, Mr Netanyahu’s office said Israel was committed to bringing the conflict to an end.

Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages, of which around 20 are believed to still be alive, within three days. It would also give up power in Gaza and disarm.

In return, Israel would end its offensive and withdraw from much of Gaza, as well as release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction.

Hamas has said it is willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but argued other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Its statement did not address the issue of Hamas demilitarising, which is a key part of the deal.

Warning ‘extremists on both sides’ could sabotage peace plan

A group representing some families of hostages said the prospect of seeing their loved ones return “has never been closer” and they appealed to Mr Trump to keep pushing “with full force”.

They warned “extremists on both sides” would try to sabotage the plan.

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Since then, at least 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up around half of the dead.